On this episode of the @CancerInterviews podcast, Pete Solomon tells host Bruce Morton how he a chemotherapy regimen helped him survive Stage IV colorectal cancer.  A colonoscopy led to his diagnosis.  Treatment included his having to wear and maintain a colostomy bag. 

 

Pete Solomon of Winthrop, Massachusetts, was in good health, swimming laps each day before going to his job with a library.  Then suddenly in September 2013, he found himself overwhelmed with fatigue.  When he saw his doctor, a number of tests were run, but none indicated anything unusual.  The doctor next called for a colonoscopy, and the polyps they removed were cancerous.  The colonoscopy was performed on a Monday, and Pete received a call with the bad news the following Friday. 

 

Two days later, Pete Solomon began radiation treatment.  Within the year he had two cycles of chemotherapy and two surgeries.  Things went well initially, but then the cancer invaded his lymph system.  After about a year, the cancer was gone, but so were five lymph nodes and part of his colon.

 

Pete says without question the toughest part of his treatment was his wearing a colostomy bag, which he had to do for approximately a year.  He says he kept working as he did prior to his diagnosis, people couldn’t see the bag, there was no odor and he doesn’t a great deal of pain associated with the bag.  Nonetheless, there was always a level of concern that something bad couldn’t happen anytime he went to a public place.

 

Exclusive of the bag, Pete Solomon said during his treatment, he experienced acute fatigue.  At times it got so bad he couldn’t “lift a pencil.”  He also suffered cognitive lapses because of the chemotherapy, and even though that regimen is in his past, he thinks to this day, his forgetfulness is tied to the chemo.

 

These days Pete says his health was very close to what it was, pre-diagnosis.  Where he now lives doesn’t have a pool, but it does have a gym.  He walks a mile or two on the treadmill and does some light weightlifting, emphasizing it is important to not try workouts that are on beyond one’s capability.  Pete says when your body tells you to sit down, you should sit down.

 

By way of advice, Pete Solomon says to trust your care team, as it makes its living battling cancer.  He suggests to trust yourself.  Set realistic goals in terms of what you want to do to get through the day.  Sometimes, he says, you will fail to meet those goals, but other days, there will be the excitement of exceeding those goals.

 

Additional Resources:

 

Support Group:

 

Colon Cancer Prevention Project: https://www.coloncancerpreventionproject.org